Whatever Pleases
“But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” (Mark 9:13)
Coming down the mountain of great glory, Jesus prepares His disciples for moments of great suffering. Bewildered and confused, these men cannot grasp the suffering of which Christ speaks. They have seen His glory, and they have heard the voice of His Father speaking from within the cloud. Long before this, they saw His kindness, His compassion, His mercy, His wisdom, His power. They have seen Him! Who would ever want to hurt Him? Who would dare contemplate the crucifying of the Christ? As the old saying goes, “When the heart is on fire, the eyes are full of smoke.” Our love for Christ blinds us to the harsh reality of hatred; therefore, Christ reminds them of Elijah.
John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah, heralding the coming of Christ and heralding His truth as a faithful servant of the Word. Some of the most beautiful declarations of Christ came from his lips like the drippings of the honey comb. How was he received? Well, “they did to him whatever they pleased.” This was a polite way of reminding them of John’s jail time and ultimate beheading. If they treated the servant so poorly, how will they treat the Master? His dignity will not dampen their hatred; no, it will raise their hatred to unfathomable heights. Our views of Christ’s loveliness often blind us to man’s enmity. Do not the Scriptures repeatedly tell us of such? “No one seeks after God...There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:11, 18) Or, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” (Ps. 14:1) “They cursed God.” (Rev. 16:21) When the Son of God took on flesh, the hatred of man took every opportunity to let off steam.
My friends, the Scriptures do not speak of the bad people over there (wherever there is). Scripture speaks of us. We may not have lived in the same time as that generation, but we are the same type. We may not cursed Jesus to His face; but as with Job’s sons, we have cursed God in our hearts (Job 1:5). Yes, we may not with fist bold hoisted Christ upon the tree, but I solemnly remind us that the opposite of love is not indifference, but hatred. We hated him. Praise God that He freely gives us new hearts to love Him, new eyes to see Him, and a new will to do for Him whatever He pleases. We must offer up thanks day in and day out for His converting grace. Have you been converted? Ask yourself: do you long to do for him whatever he pleases, or do you long to do to him whatever you please? Whose pleasure is of greatest importance?
